mimsyb Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Anyone desiring to see an extraordinary and luxurious exhibit of new and old Chines fashion should head to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. Included are ancient silk robes along side newer clothes inspired by the old. There are fantastic headpieces and hair ornaments (one is of an entire village including prancing cranes made entirely of bamboo). Anyone who wondered at the out size of the headpieces worn at the recent showing of "Sleeping Beauty" at ABT should look at what's on display here! And there's one gold gown on the second floor (by a contemporary designer Gua Pei) that puts the Queen's gown in "SB" to shame!! There's plenty of Alexander McQueen here, as well as John Galliano and, of course, St. LAurent. But it's the juxtaposition of the old and new that really works. There's even a gown with a bodice made of shards from broken Chinese pottery! Also, many film clips, including one of Fred Astaire and Ann Miller in "Zeigfield Follies 1945" They are both made up to look Asian and the dance moves are a bit hokey, but it's fun to see. This entire exhibit is just wonderful. One of the best ever from the Met. It's there through Aug. 16th. SEE IT!! Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I went to see this, and it's indeed wonderful. Very interesting to see an imperial gown from the Ming dinasty next to a contemporary dress by Galliano using the same pattern as the original. There is a whole section devoted to the quipao, many of them from the 30's and 40's, from the very modest to the ultra luxurious ones. I really enjoyed the exhibition. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Thanks for posting and commenting, mimsyb and cubanmiamiboy. This sounds wonderful. Has anyone else seen it? Link to comment
choriamb Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I saw it too. The show stretches over three floors: older and Chinese-made holdings dominate the bottom floor and it gradually shades into mainly contemporary and Western-made holdings on the top floor. Oddly for me, I enjoyed the historic costumes more than the couture. While it was interesting to see the archive Lanvin on the top floor (and the Stephen Jones hats used throughout were endlessly inventive), I thought the bottom floor and the small uniform exhibit at the head of the stairway leading down to it were the most enjoyable parts of the show. If you're short on time, try to catch them...they're buried a bit further back in the gallery. Link to comment
dirac Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I don't think it's odd at all, choriamb. The historic costumes would be my main purpose for being there. Some images from the Met's website. Link to comment
choriamb Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 One other note: there's a video of The National Ballet of China's The Red Detachment of Women by the uniform exhibit. Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Yes...the video shows up in the section dedicated to the "Mao suit". There are some interesting fouettes in there... Link to comment
abatt Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I read in today's NY Times that this exhibition has been extended for an additional 3 weeks, so it will now close on Sept 7. Link to comment
abatt Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I finally got a chance to see this exhibit. A spectacular show. See it if you can. Link to comment
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